Chel Vanin, hailing from Maerone in Andor,[1] is a former horse thief and poacher.
Appearance
He is fat and balding with gaps in his teeth.
Activities
Poacher to Scout
He became a member of the Band of the Red Hand when he was sought out, among others, on the orders of Mat Cauthon. Mat meant to build a group of scouts for the Band composed of men well used to stealth. Among this group of men Chel Vanin is considered the best by far, and his name is spoken with awe. Certainly he has proven his abilities by sneaking past a line of Warders guarding passage to and from Salidar, a difficult task at best, yet Vanin did so not once, but twice without being seen.
Chel Vanin has no respect for nobles, with the notable exception of Elayne Trakand, and generally shows the minimum amount of respect required to keep a whole skin.
A grossly obese man, roughly a hundred or so pounds over his ideal weight, Vanin still moves with a notable grace and though he doesn't seem to be a dangerous man, dangerous men avoid him. Generally wearing clean but wrinkled clothing that looks and probably is slept in, Chel Vanin most definitely cuts a most unimposing figure, yet Mat has come to rely on him when stealth, discretion, and cunning is required.
Ebou Dar
He traveled with Mat and some of the Redarms to Ebou Dar. Along the way he became even more respectful towards Elayne and always addressed her as "My Lady." While in Ebou Dar Mat sent him to watch the activities of Jaichim Carridin. He leaves for the Rahad with the rest of the group to retrieve the Bowl of the Winds. He is attacked by a gholam and injured but is more worried how Elayne is.
He then stays in the Tarasin Palace with the rest of the surviving Redarms.
He leaves Ebou Dar with Mat and the rest of the Redarms and joins Valan Luca's Traveling Show as cover for their escape. He tracks down Renna Emain after she stabs Egeanin Tamarath and tries to flee to the town of Coramen.
Return to the Band
He leads Mat and his group after they leave Luca's show, to a smuggler's pass in the Damona Mountains. While scouting the area he finds Talmanes Delovinde and some of the Band. He brings them back to Mat's camp.
Mat uses Vanin as bait, to get the Seanchan to chase him. Mat then springs an ambush, wiping just about the whole contingent out.
When Furyk Karede arrives in the Band's camp to escort Tuon back to Ebou Dar, Vanin rides in with the news of a Seanchan force approaching, all looking for the reward of one hundred thousand gold crowns for killing Tuon.
After Tuon leaves, Vanin continues to lead the company through Altara. When the Aes Sedai in Mat's company decide to leave, Mat sends Vanin with them to gather information.
The Last Battle
Vanin accompanies Faile Bashere as she handles the logistics of arming the forces of the Light. Unbeknownst to Vanin, Faile has a secret mission to deliver the Horn of Valere to Mat in the guise of a supply run. She receives the Horn in the guise of a shipment of Two Rivers tabac. During the run, the group is assaulted by a bubble of evil and winds up in the Blight. One night Faile sets a trap for a suspected thief. She buries the Horn and baits the trap with an empty box. Vanin and Harnan dig up the Horn and are suspected of being Darkfriends.
The duo trail behind Faile and follow them through one of the Shadow's gateways in Thakan'dar. They are in time to help Faile kill Aravine, who has proven to be a Darkfriend and has stolen the Horn. Vanin's fate is not described, though he was last seen being chased by Trollocs, Darkfriends and Mydraal.